TILC RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Published April 12, 2016

NGO representatives’ survey on NGO integrity

Survey measures how accountable NGOs operating in Lithuania are, what challenges they face, how they rate NGO financial programmes provided by public sector and whether they are keen on taking part in them.

Assessing accountability of Lithuanian Football Federation

Survey assesses Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) and other FIFA members accountability and also analyses how much information they provide about their yearly budgets, activities ant ethic guidelines. LFF is rated positively in 3 out of 4 categories. 85% of all FIFA members do not announce any information about their activities.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: TOWARDS A MORE TRANSPARENT LITHUANIA

Academic integrity is based on openness, integrity and accountability principles. On the contrary, academic dishonesty is therefore regarded as cheating in academic activities and is visible in research ethics, principles of education institutions, value systems of students, pupils and of academia in general. TI Lithuania is active in initiating academic integrity activities in order to ensure sustainable implementation of anti-corruption initiatives around the country in the long run. Also, research reveals the correlation between the integrity standards that students apply in education institutions and their ethical standards applied in their work placements in the future. The study presents several ways to counter corruption in academia and also sets recommendations for the Ministry of Education and Science, universities, colleges and high schools in Lithuania.

LOBBYING IN EUROPE: HIDDEN INFLUENCE, PRIVILEGED ACCESS

This report examines the practice of lobbying and the attempts to regulate it in 19 European countries and within the three core EU institutions. It comes at a time when public trust in government is at an all-time low and the practice of lobbying is widely associated with secrecy and unfair advantage. It also comes at a moment when an increasing number of governments in Europe are promising to tackle the problem of undue influence in politics, and the need for good government is particularly pressing given the range of economic, social and political challenges currently faced by European countries and EU institutions.

OPEN CITIES. MORE TRANSPARENCY. MORE ACCOUNTABILITY. MORE CONVENIENCE

The concept of Open City is an implementation of the open governance principle applied in cities, allowing city tenants to easily access actual information regarding municipal governance. It empowers ordinary citizens to actively use municipal services and to engage in decision-making processes in the city. This principle encourages a more informed and empowered society, and more open and cooperative local government. Guidelines overview several cases of open cities in practice and provide recommendations to municipalities aiming for more openness in their activities.

LOBBYING STANDARDS

TI Lithuania together with the colleagues from the global ‘Transparency International” network introduced the analysis of practices worldwide as well as recommendations on what could be he best ways to manage risks posed by lobbying activities in different decision-making stages in Lithuania while using legal regulations.

TILC SUGGESTIONS TO THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

TILC provided suggestions to the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture on how to make the database of media-outlet owners more accessible to the society and also on what measures should be taken to increase the media accountability and transparency in Lithuania.

EVALUATING TRANSPARENCY OF MAJOR BUSINESSES IN LITHUANIA

TI Lithuania conducted transparency evaluation of 41 major companies that operate in Lithuania. Report analyzed what amount of information these businesses provided in their official websites. Data conducted was used to create transparency rankings for the companies involved.

EVALUATION OF TRANSPARENCY OF ENTERPRISES GOVERNED BY MUNICIPALITIES

TI Lithuania conducted transparency evaluation of 40 major enterprises in Lithuania that are governed by municipal institutions. Report analyzed what amount of information these businesses provided in their official websites. Data conducted was used to create transparency rankings for the enterprises involved.

EVALUATION OF TRANSPARENCY LEVELS IN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS

TI Lithuania conducted research focusing on evaluation of transparency and accountability standards in all 60 municipalities in Lithuania. The research analyses how much of the information municipalities publish in their official websites. Based on the results, municipality index for transparency was created to encourage local governments to increase their performance.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON LOBBYING ACTIVITIES IN LITHUANIA

Research overviews practices of lobbying activities in Lithuania. It examines how transparent and accountable legal regulations posed on this sphere are and what ethical norms are in tact. Also, research analyses whether all interest groups have equal opportunities to get involved into decision-making processes.

TILS RECOMMENDATIONS ON E-VOTING

TILS together with young professionals programme “Kurk Lietuvai” (“Create for Lithuania”) set recommendations for the e-voting implementation process. It indicates that all political parties have to unanimously agree upon the sustainability of such initiative, announce thei programme code as well as other documents regarding e-voting, constantly monitor the system and carry out its quality evaluation.

SURVEY ON OPENNESS OF MUNICIPALITIES IN LITHUANIA

Survey of Lithuanian citizens shows what are the criteria for people to decide whether municipalities are open and cooperative with local communities. The survey also reveals what kind of information people in Lithuania would like municipal governments to publish and how Lithuanians decide whether their representative municipalities work efficiently or not.

TILS COMMENTS ON THE NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAMME

TI Lithuania provided proposals for the National Anti-Corruption Programme. Report recommends set key key goals for the upcoming 5 year period, and explain how the planned measures will help to shrink corruption levels in Lithuania. It also suggests to include or to specify more problematic areas and include them in the programme.

TILC NOTES ON DRAFT REGULATIONS OF THE NGO COUNCIL

“Transparency International” Lithuanian Chapter together with Human Rights Monitoring Institute and coalition “Galiu gyventi” formulated notes on two resolution drafts: No. 14-2611 “On the forming of the NGO Council and the agreement upon its regulations” and on No. 14-2612 “Regulations of the NGO Council”.

EVALUATION OF LITHUANIA’S PRESIDENCY TO THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF THE EU

“Transparency International” EU Chapter together with TI Lithuania conducted an evaluation of Lithuania’s presidency to the European Council of the EU and focused on 6 key areas: public procurement, accountability of enterprises, initiatives countering money-laundering, establish joint EU Prosecution Office, funding of European political parties, and forming of association and trade agreements. The report also evaluates accessibility of information and transparency of budgets during the presidency period.

RESEARCH OF BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN LITHUANIA ON CORRUPT AGREEMENTS IN SPORTS

Research reveals how many athletes had participated in competition while having suspicions or having know that the final result had been agreed upon in advance. It also reveals the reasons why sportsmen participate in such agreements and also what kind of agreements are most common in Lithuanian sports.

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX 2013

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be. The score of a country or territory reflects the perceived level of corruption in the public sector on a scale of 0 to 100, where a 0 indicates that a country is perceived as highly corrupt whereas a 100 means that it is perceived as very transparent. A country’s rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories ranked in the index. 177 countries and territories were included in the index of 2013.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO SILENCE: BETTER WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION SYSTEM IN LITHUANIA

Updated report of the “Transparency International” network evaluates the situation of whistleblower protection in 27 EU Member States. Report based on research conducted on national levels shows what are the remaining issues for implementing better whistleblower protection mechanisms in the respected countries. Lithuania is concluded to be among those countries which have very limited or even no whistleblower protection mechanisms. Analysis in Lithuania was conducted by “Transparency International” Lithuania.

5 PRINCIPLES OF OPEN DATA PROVISION

These recommendations aim to introduce the public sector institutions with the main principles of open data as well as with the minimal criteria, which should be implemented by Lithuanian institutions while providing data. Recommendations were drafted based on already existing guidelines provided by international organizations.

IMPLEMENTATION REPORT OF THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION

TI Lithuania prepared a parallel implementation monitoring report and analyzed how the national legislation complies with the UN Convention Against Corruption. It focuses on both legal gaps found in legislation as well as on practical issues.

EVALUATION OF CORRUPTION RISKS WITHIN THE EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS SYSTEM IN LITHUANIA

This TILC research analyses the overall EU structural funds managment mechanism in Lithuania. It offers universal risk management practices in systems of such administration. Analysis identifies main corruption and fraud risks and examines their management mechanisms in the three stages of implementation.

TI LITHUANIA COMMENTS ON THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT DRAFT LAW PROPOSAL

The Ministry of Agriculture proposed to loosen the regulations governing procurement procedures, by increasing the ceiling for what is considered “small value procurement”, applying exceptional treatment to the procurement carried out during political campaigns and creating a new category for large value procurement. TI Lithuania posits that such proposals would increase the risks of corruption in the procurement area. TI Lithuania prepared comments in light of this proposal and presented them to Parliament.

POLITICAL PARTIES IN LITHUANIA: A BUSINESS MODEL THAT OVERSHADOWS THE PUBLIC INTEREST?

The main objective of the focus group discussions was to explore together with experts whether Lithuanian political parties operate in a transparent, responsible and accountable way. TI Lithuania aimed to find out : 1) the principles upon which political parties operate, their relationships with the electorate and business representatives; 2) the existing patterns for regulation of political campaigns and their funding as well as arising related problems; 3) the problems encountered in organizing elections and violations of election procedure; 4) recommendations to solve the highlighted problems.

THE ANTI-CORRUPTION PLANS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Transparency International Lithuanian Chapter presented a survey to twelve political parties that were participating in Parliamentary elections. The parties were selected based on sociological surveys highlighting their public support (whether more than 1% of citizens indicated that they would vote for the party in the upcoming elections) and their visibility in the public arena. From 12 to 25 September, ten parties provided their answers to the survey: TS-LKD, Way of Courage Party (Drąsos kelias), Order and Justice (Tvarka ir teisingumas), Liberal and Centre Union (Liberalų ir centro sąjunga), Liberal Movement (Liberalų sąjūdis), Labour party (Darbo partija), Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (Lenkų rinkimų akcija), Social Democratic party of Lithuania (Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija), Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union (Valstiečių ir žaliųjų sąjunga), Union ‘Yes’ (Sąjunga „Taip“).

THE STUDY ON WHISTLEBLOWING IN LITHUANIAN INSTITUTIONS

This study aimed to find out how institutions accept and process reports and notifications received from citizens and their own employees, and what security measures are used to protect personal information. The survey was distributed to 233 state institutions and their subordinates along with as municipalities in the spring of 2012.

THE STUDY ON ANTI-CORRUPTION MEASURES USED IN LITHUANIAN INSTITUTIONS

TI Lithuania conducted the study after receiving the responses to the survey sent to 198 state institutions about the anti-corruption measures that they were employing. The survey was created to better understand whether institutions had anti-corruption programmes, what measures were used to implement them, what funding and resources were available and how they evaluated the effects of those actions.

AN ANALYSIS OF UNDISCLOSED PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN LITHUANIAN MINISTRIES 2006 – 2010

NATIONAL INTEGRITY STUDY

The National Integrity Study (NIS) is a tool that allows for systemic evaluation of and fight against corruption. The National Integrity Study includes the most important government institutions that are responsible for the fight against corruption. If these institutions function well, they create a strong and resistant NIS that can effectively fight corruption; conversely, if there are not enough essential rules and unreported behaviour is prevalent, perfect conditions form for corrupt behaviour and the disturbances in societal development and social cohesion. Due to this, reinforcing the NIS encourages a country’s development, better governance and the advancement of the society.

TI LITHUANIA RESEARCH ON YOUTH INTEGRITY

The aim of this study was to find out whether Lithuanian youth are prone to justifying various instances of improper behaviour, what, in their opinion, could prevent people from behaving this way and what core values are important to them.

HOTLINES IN LITHUANIA: ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

At the end of 2009 TI Lithuania sought to find out what reporting possibilities were available to the civil servants. TI Lithuania surveyed LR Ministries and their subordinate institutions about the internal conditions created for employee whistleblowers. This qualitative analysis was supported by further exploratory research that looked into external reporting opportunities. The aim of this study was to find out how many ‘hotlines’ are available at national level. The study revealed how whisteblower reports are received, what security measures are implemented and how the situation could be improved.

INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY IN LITHUANIA

This study aimed to determine the conditions for information accessibility in Lithuania using data from the national sociological surveys and expert evaluations, as well as propose ways to solve existing problems.

THE CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR CORRUPT ACTIVITIES

TI Lithuania aims to encourage discussions about the shortcomings of regulations and the legal process, as well as what should be amended so that corrupt activities are successfully investigated and prosecuted. This analysis aimed to identify problematic provisions and areas to help creating an effective legal anti-corruption framework.

PERIODS OF PRESCRIPTION OF AND CRIMINAL PERSECUTION FOR CORRUPTION CRIMES IN THE EU

The study analyzed the influence of the periods of prescription on enforcement for criminal persecutions for corruption crimes in the European Union. The research is based on 27 studies that analyzed the merits and flaws of the regulations of periods of prescription and their implementation in different countries.

THE PARALLEL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION: LITHUANIA

This report gives an opportunity get an outside perspective into how the government is implementing the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). TI Lithuania prepared a parallel report alongside the government report (which was not made available to the public), highlighting the problems of criminalization and culpability in Lithuania. The TI Lithuania report was prepared following an independent analysis of the implementation of the Convention.

THE APPLICATION OF PERIODS OF PRESCRIPTION TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS FOR CORRUPTION CRIMES IN LITHUANIA

Certain facts made public about cases terminated because their periods of prescription had expired caused an uproar of negative opinion in the media and society. Although prosecutions for cases dealing with corruption crimes are terminated rarely, these instances negatively impact on the public opinion about state institutions. Taking into account that Lithuania for a long time had some of the shortest periods of prescription in the whole of Europe, measures to reform these periods in Lithuania were initiated. This report discusses how the new regulations work, how periods of prescription are applied to the crimes of corruption and the changes the reform brought to this area.

THE LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT’S RESOLUTION ON ‘THE COMPENSATION FOR THE PROVISION OF VALUABLE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CRIMES AGAINST STATE PROPERTY’

This legal analysis of the government’s resolution proposal presents critical commentary on the main drawbacks of the document. The analysis also explains why this resolution has never been implemented in practice and why it cannot be seen as either promoting the practice of whistleblowing or being an integral part of the measures for whistleblower protection.

RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES FOR THE LEGAL REGULATION OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

This document presents recommendations for the regulation of whistleblower protection at the national level. These recommendations define the main concepts (reporting, publicizing of the information, whistleblower protection, etc.). They also explain the scope of the legal framework as well as the protection procedures necessary.

This study analyzes five publications of Lithuanian newspapers in 2008 (‘Lietuvos rytas’, ‘Respublika’, ‘Lietuvos žinios’, ‘Verslo žinios’, and ‘Vilniaus diena’), at the same time taking note whether they announced the mistakes that they made. Having compared Lithuanian results with those from analogous research conducted in Latvia and Sweden, the transparency of Lithuanian newspapers was evaluated as the worst.

THE STUDY THE TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

The aim of the study was to determine how Lithuanian business executives or their agents evaluate the public procurement situation in Lithuania, to reveal reasons that negatively impact on the transparency in public procurement, to determine which public procurement procedures have an increased risk of corruption and to determine how this system can be improved. The research was commissioned by the Special Investigations Service (STT)and conducted by private limited liability company Rait, while the methodology was suppplied by TI Lithuania.

THE SURVEY OF LITHUANIAN REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES

This study revealed that construction business representatives perceive corruption as a huge problem in this sector and admit that they often encounter cases of nepotism and bribery. According to respondents, bribes effectively solve various problems related to construction works. According to citizens who were involved in the construction business in the past five years, this sector is the second most corrupt sector following health care. The report also includes a summary of the unofficial salaries and company tariffs in the construction sector.

ENCOURAGING TRANSPARENCY IN THE NGO SECTOR

This study analyzes the activities of Lithuanian NGOs. Their activities, it is noted, often encounter funding problems and shortages of available qualified personnel. When presenting NGO accountability, it is often stressed that these organizations adhere to their goals and ethical norms and publicize their activities well, but pay relatively little attention to financial indicators. NGO representatives evaluate the transparency of the non-governmental sector very critically – 68% deem NGO activity to be transparent, 27% – as not transparent. The report analyzes the influences on the lack of transparency in NGOs and possible solutions.

TOWARDS A MORE TRANSPARENT MEDIA

The study presents how business representatives evaluate the transparency of the media. The largest part of respondents believe that Lithuanian media is powerful and can ruin certain companies or individual (91% of all respondents are either convinced or think it highly likely). This study also evaluates the transparency of various media outlets. News agencies are believed to be the most transparent of all media outlets, whereas the national press is deemed to be the least transparent.

MORE HONOR IN TREATMENTS WITH MEDICATION

This study revealed how representatives of pharmaceutical companies and Lithuanian doctors collaborate, when doctors receive extensive information about new drugs alongside gifts or services. The research presents how doctors perceive the relationship between the health care sector and pharmaceutical companies, and the reasons behind the emergence of opaque relations. In addition, TI Lithuania provides recommendations to possibly ensure greater transparency in the pharmaceutical sector.

12 INSIGHTS INTO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT IN LITHUANIA

Business executives with experience in public procurement competitions voiced critical opinions about access to information and the legal framework for regulating public procurement. The procedure of public procurement is often evaluated as ‘vaguely defined’, the system of public procurement – not transparent enough and the control over the system – not effective enough. According to respondents, some companies are favored in public procurement competitions by publishing criteria suiting the agreed winner.

THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF EU STRUCTURAL FUNDS IN LITHUANIA

The participants in the study indicated several flaws in the distribution of EU structural funds: a long period of time between submitting the application and signing the contract, complicated rules, the unsatisfactory quality of work of the agencies responsible for administering structural funding projects. However, according to respondents, the system is sufficiently transparent because the greatest impact to receiving support is made not by bribes but rather by the use of consulting companies, by professionalism and integrity. The research also analyzes concrete experiences of respondents in encountering corrupt situations in the process of public procurement.

THE STUDY OF TRANSPARENCY IN THE AUTO-SERVICE SECTOR

More than 50 % of respondents evaluated the activities of companies in the auto-service sector as partially or very corrupt. A third of the respondents indicated that they paid for car check-up, whereas a fourth said that they used services provided by their acquaintances working in the sector. Respondents said that they were not averse to the thought of giving a bribe and believed that bribes could solve problems more effectively. At the same time, the surveyed businessmen were less prone to giving bribes for better automobile servicing (9 -10 % of surveyed businessmen).

THE STUDY OF TRANSPARENCY IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR

The report presents data on the experiences of corruption by institutions in the forestry sector. About 30 % of respondents said that there are a lot of instances of bribery in the forestry sector, almost half of the respondents indicated that they knew about indirect attempts to influence forestry procedures. The report presents the proliferation of bribery in concrete forestry procedures and includes recommendations from businessmen on how to ensure that this sector is more transparent (with emphasis on strict control and increased publicity). The report also includes recommendations from TI Lithuania concerning anti-corruption.

THE STUDY ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: THE SURVEY OF BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES

The study presents the results of the survey of businessmen regarding the transparency of the public procurement system, the most corrupt parts and stages of the process. One fourth of respondents indicated that, during the year before, they heard about the instances of corruption in public procurement. More than half of the respondents (57 %) argued that Lithuanian politicians attempt to indirectly influence public procurement results. In addition, bribery and favoritism are the greatest issues of the system. The report also includes recommendations for improvement.

THE STUDY ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY MUNICIPALITIES REGARDING THEIR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

The report provides data on the availability of information regarding public procurement in 11 Lithuanian municipalities. This research analyzes the amount of time taken by municipalities to respond to official requests for information and how much information on public procurement is available at municipality websites.